Holy Rosary

Whether we call them ‘Mystery’ or ‘Rosary’ Sonatas, these fifteen pieces, crowned by a sublime passacaglia for unaccompanied violin, form one of the greatest violinistic masterpieces of the Baroque repertory.This version, by Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti, derived from a dance project with the Rosas company, leads us into their magical universe through a novel prism: that of movement, to which these pieces are an infinite ode.

Whether we call them ‘Mystery’ or ‘Rosary’ Sonatas, these fifteen pieces, crowned by a sublime passacaglia for unaccompanied violin, form one of the greatest violinistic masterpieces of the Baroque repertory.This version, by Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti, derived from a dance project with the Rosas company, leads us into their magical universe through a novel prism: that of movement, to which these pieces are an infinite ode.

The Mystery Sonatas by Austrian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, believed to have been penned in the 1670s, remain unsurpassed for their virtuosity and extended use of scordatura, a unique tuning system that underscores different aural colours and timbres of the violin, thereby illuminating the pictorial themes of the Rosary - the processions devoted to major moments in the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary - which Biber's work depicts.

The Mystery Sonatas by Austrian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, believed to have been penned in the 1670s, remain unsurpassed for their virtuosity and extended use of scordatura, a unique tuning system that underscores different aural colours and timbres of the violin, thereby illuminating the pictorial themes of the Rosary - the processions devoted to major moments in the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary - which Biber's work depicts.

After having devoted many years to the instrumental ensemble music of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, the Swiss early music ensemble Les Passions de l'?me, together with its artistic director Meret L?thi, also turned to his opus magnum, the 15 Rosary Sonatas, in a marathon of three concerts. They then went into the studio and recorded all the sonatas for a double album in co-production with Bayern 4 Klassik, which is now published by PROSPERO in a splendid edition with many illustrations and informative texts on the work.